Beginning sometime in 2023, AMC Theaters and Zoom are coming together to allow audience members to video chat from the comfort of their local movie theater. The two companies announced the collaboration in a small press release that gave faint details, but Variety is reporting at least 17 AMC locations across the United States will work together with Zoom to facilitate conference calls between “small, medium and large-sized groups” in different venues.
Additional services like food and beverage selections, possible movie viewings, and other meeting needs will also be available at an additional cost, the release also said.
It’s hard to imagine that dazzling images on a huge silver screen just means choppy video of your friends or even your bosses if for some reason they decide to host a post-Wakanda Forever conference call. The hope for the collaboration is to enable companies with decentralized workforces and customer bases to meet for “cohesive virtual and in-person events and meeting experiences”.
This is AMC’s latest attempt to expand its business model outside of the box office as the movie theater business struggles to still recover from COVID as it almost ran out of money at the end of 2020. Last year, the company embraced its status as a meme stock, and became the subject of an SEC investigation.
How it works is that users will be able to book “Zoom Rooms” online at their preferred theater and meeting time. Then, they will receive a three-hour block of time to virtually host their event across multiple markets at the selected locations. AMC and Zoom will then provide the necessary equipment for a fully functional Zoom Rooms experience. Auditorium sizes are expected to range between 75 and 150 seats. As of now, it’s unsure how much this will actually cost and if it’s per person or per room.
“One of the lessons learned during the pandemic when so many of us were forced to work remotely was the importance of a reliable, dynamic communications platform,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a statement. “We also learned that even though we may be spread far apart, the ability to come together in person is as important as ever. That is why I’m so excited about this AMC partnership with Zoom. So many of us know how vital Zoom is in managing our enterprises. Now through this partnership of Zoom and AMC, we have the best of both worlds…the spectacular communications platform of Zoom combined with the comfort, size, scale, and state-of-the-art sight and sound capabilities of AMC’s centrally located theatres. This creates an all-new product in major cities across the U.S. for companies and meeting planners.”
Now that’s sound you can feel.
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